Business in Poland

1/15/2009

Poland is the 82nd freest economy in the world, according to the Heritage Foundation’s 2009 Economic Freedom Index.

The ranking, out of 183 countries, is the same for the post-communist central European nation as it was in 2008. One place above is Greece, one place below is Kazakhstan.

According to the Heritage Foundation, Poland’s ranking reflects, “modest declines in five of the 10 economic freedoms that offset a considerable gain in freedom from corruption. Poland is ranked 35th out of 43 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is above the world average.”

After a series of reforms implemented last year, :Poland scores above the world average in trade freedom, monetary freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption.”

However, Poland ranks badly in the size of the state sector, with high public spending and still sluggish progress in the rate of privatization

Polish central bank should cut interest rates further to foster growth and may move in larger than 25 basis point steps, Monetary Policy Council member Andrzej Slawinski said on WednesdayThe main factor guiding the monetary policy now will be the fact that the economic growth will for some time be lower than the potential,' Slawinski told TVN CNBC in an interview. 'The monetary policy should further be eased ... in order to help the economic growth come back ... to the level of potential growth,' Slawinski said.

1/13/2009

Poland's top oil refiner PKN Orlen's PKNA.WA results in the fourth quarter were negatively impacted by lower oil prices and weaker zloty, the company's CEO Jacek Krawiec was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Krawiec also said the company which now owns 90 percent of Mazeikiu Nafta, a Lithuanian refiner, may seek an investment partner for Mazeikiu if the plant's efficiency does not improve.

"I can't rule out that we'll be forced to seek an investment partner (for Mazeikiu)... This is a hypothesis for the event that other instruments of lifting efficiency fail," Krawiec told daily Rzeczpospolita in an interview.